The Feud
by Ikeda Rose
Summary: Two brothers witness the opening fight of Romeo and Juliet. A How-the-feud-began-fic I wrote this for freshman english. My writing skills have matured alot since then, but i still keep it up for the heck of it


**Ok, this is a little thing that I had to do for english class. We were reading Romeo and Juliet, and one of our options was to write how the infamous feud started. _Voila. _This story was born. (BTW, sorry if i spelled voila wrong) Any way, it's pretty short and sweet, so read it and review. I love to write stories, but im not sure if i am any good at it, so i could use some constructive critisism. Thnx. Enjoy :)**

The Feud

An In-between Prequel to Romeo and Juliet

It was almost noon when Scipio and Lorenzo reached their grandmother's house. The eighteen-year-old twin boys, both with black hair and deep brown eyes, had just witnessed a public fight in the square, and were discussing it excitedly.

"That had to be the biggest fight yet!" Scipio said as he opened the kitchen door. Lorenzo nodded in agreement.

"Eight in all, fighting in the square of Verona; no wonder the prince and the bailiff had to come and stop it. I thought Tybalt was actually going to kill Benvolio for a moment. Did you see Lord Capulet? The old man would have gladly drawn his sword as well, had it not been for his wife. She probably feared that he would have another stroke." Scipio nodded as both boys walked down the hallway.

"Grandmother," Lorenzo called

"Come in. We're in the solar," a voice called from down the hall. Scipio and Lorenzo walked into the solar. Their grandmother, Anna, was sitting on a chair in the middle of the large room. Surrounding her were her spinning wheel, and three bags of new wool. Sitting on the floor next to her was Retta, Lorenzo and Scipio's cousin. She looked up from her wool carding when they entered.

"Good afternoon gentlemen," Anna said "What kept you? You should have been here half an hour ago." Her eyes sparkled.

"Apologies ma'am," Scipio said, "We were detained."

"And what could have been so important that you were detained?" Anna asked

"There was a fight in the city square!" Lorenzo said a bit too excitedly. Scipio elbowed him in the side. The sparkle left Anna's eyes.

"Fighting is nothing to rejoice about," She said. Scipio and Lorenzo lowered their heads in acknowledgement of their grandmother's words; they knew it was true. Retta spoke up quietly.

"Who was fighting, cousin?" she asked Lorenzo

"Those two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets," Lorenzo replied. "It's the third fight in two months. It got so intense that the prince and his men came to stop it. He told the two heads of the houses that their lives would be forfeit if there was ever another fight that disturbed the peace of the city again," Lorenzo replied. Anna shook her head.

"Those two houses must settle their feud before some is killed, or it will be all the worse."

"To stop them seems impossible, the way they fought. Tybalt even threatened to kill Benvolio. You would think that they had loathed each other since the first Montagues and Capulets existed." Scipio said skeptically. Anna looked up at him and shook her head

"It wasn't always like that," she said. Lorenzo and Scipio looked at her, confused. Anna's eyes shone, as she began to remember a different time. "Bring those over here," she said, indicating two wooden stools that sat against the wall. Scipio and Lorenzo obeyed, bringing the stools.

"Sit down," Anna said, "I'm going to tell you a story."

"Aren't we a little old for stories Grandmother?" Scipio asked as they sat down.

"This is not a story for the young," Anna replied gently. "In fact, you three are all the perfect age to hear it."

"What is it about?" Retta asked quietly, putting down her carding blocks and listening intently. Anna looked at all of them.  
"The Montagues and the Capulets were not always enemies. There was a time when the two houses lived as friends, both servants and family members alike." The three young people listened with great curiosity now, eager to hear what their grandmother had to say.

"I was a young woman," Anna said "O, about Retta's age, fifteen, I think." She patted Retta's shoulder. "Back then, the heads of the houses were the grandfathers of those now, old Niccolo Capulet and Benito Montague. The two men were very close friends, as were their families and servants. There were many happy parties and gatherings. Verona was content; there were none of the terrible fights that happen now. The families were at peace." Anna paused and sighed before continuing

"However, though no one expected it, that peace would not be in place much longer."

"What happened?" Scipio asked, the tone of his voice reflecting that of the school boy he had been not so long ago. Anna sighed sadly, her eyes lowering.

"Ah, that is the part that is the most terrible. The feud began with the most precious emotion of all; an emotion that no one ever imagined could start a feud."

"What?" Retta asked.

Anna looked down at her sadly.

"Love; that summer was on of love for two of the children of the houses. Antonio Montegue was a handsome young man, around Scipio and Lorenzo's age. One day, at a party held by the Capulets, he met Niccolo's daughter, Rosea, and they fell in love with each other. It was a beautiful bond, and I'm sure it would have lasted a lifetime, had it not been for a jealous man.

"Who was it?" Lorenzo asked.

"It was Rosea's third cousin, Mercutio. He also loved Rosea, and was angry because she did not love him back. More than once he had asked for Rosea's hand in marriage and had been refused by her. After he saw Rosea and Antonio together, it became too much for him. He began looking for a way to get rid of Antonio. After a few failed attempts, he finally found one. He overheard that Rosea was going to meet Antonio in secret so that they could be married in secret. When Rosea left the house in the middle of the night, Mercutio followed her, taking care not to be seen; he had his rapier with him." Anna paused, and breathed in deeply, as if it was too painful for her to continue.

"What happened then Grandmother?" Retta asked, "Tell us." Anna looked at the floor and then at them, her eyes glistening with unshed tears

"No one knows for sure what happened next, there was no one to see. The next day, the beds of the two children were found empty. The only lead was the word of a young Capulet maid who had seen Mercutio follow Rosea into the night. A search began; already the two families were beginning to become irritated with each other. Then, Antonio's body was found by a Capulet search party, under a mulberry tree outside Verona. In his back was Mercutio's sword. That set off and outrage within the Montague household. The blamed the Capulets for the death of Antonio, since the sword of a Capulet had killed him. The Capulets, though the evidence was overwhelming, denied it, believing that Mercutio would never murder anyone. The same day, searchers from the Montague household discovered Rosea. She was also lying under a mulberry tree close by Antonio's. Lying next to her was Antonio's sword; she was dead, stabbed multiple times. Now it was the Capulets' turn to be outraged. They figured that Antonio had killed Rosea, and then perhaps killed by Mercutio as an act of vengeance for Rosea's death. The Montegues, of course, had their own story. They said that Mercutio had killed Rosea, and then Antonio, making it look like Antonio had killed her. Rumors circulated, there were stories of bandits, thieves, suicide; every story was different. Some said that Mercutio had not been involved at all and that someone was just trying to make him look bad by falsely accusing him. Whatever had truly happened, no one would ever know. Mercutio was never again seen in Verona, nor any of the surrounding cities. Many assumed that he had died; no one ever knew for sure. From that day on, the Montegues and The Capulets hated each other with a hate more fiery than hell itself, both family members and servants alike."

Scipio, Lorenzo, and Retta looked at their grandmother, whose eyes were closed in thought.

"That is terrible," Retta said suddenly, breaking the silence with her quiet voice. "To be feuding over something that you're not even sure is true; no wonder the prince was so angry."

"That's why it's so sad" Anna replied. She slowly stood up from her chair and straightened her apron. "Now, you two better be getting home," she said to Lorenzo and Scipio, "Your mother will be wondering where you've got to." Scipio and Lorenzo got up and put the stools back where they had been.

"Thank you for telling us that story Grandmother." They said as they walked to the door way of the solar. Anna nodded

"Good day gentlemen." she replied

"Good day," Lorenzo and Scipio tipped their hats to her.

"Good day Retta," Lorenzo said, waving. Retta smiled,

"Good day cousin," She replied. Scipio and Lorenzo left through the back door.

The two boys walked down a side street past the house of the Capulets. They stopped and looked up a t the great white building.

"You know," Lorenzo said "During the story, I figured something out."

"What?"

"I think that Grandmother was the young Capulet maid, the one who saw Rosea leave.

"It's possible."

"Do you think the feud will ever end?" Scipio shrugged, his eyes still looking up at the house.

"Who knows," he said, "All things have their time I guess."

"Yeah, well I know one thing for sure" Lorenzo replied

"What?" Scipio turned to look at his brother. Lorenzo, who was halfway down the street, turned and yelled

"That I'm going to get the last piece of honey bread!" He took off running. Scipio laughed and sprinted after his brother

"Not if I catch you first!" He yelled back.


End file.
